Ashes of Dawn 2040: civilization or chaos? Will you be the victor of the post-apocalyptic era?
Imagine: 2028, nuclear apocalypse ravages the world. Central and Eastern Europe, the epicenter of the cataclysm, becomes a mercilessly devastated land bordered by sticky swamps, scarred by arid mountains and covered with irradiated forests, where radioactive ruins and vast refugee camps emerge.
Twelve years later, in 2040, the survivors clash in an all-out war for absolute power.
NARDO, the New Alliance for Resilient Defense of the West, spiritual heir to NATO, gathers the debris of the West to rebuild a democratic order, with impregnable strongholds such as Scapa and Krakow and proud territorial entities, nations of yesteryear, such as the Eagles of the Carpathians and the Sons of the Republic.
Opposing them is VARPAC, the Varyaga Pact, spiritual heir to the Warsaw Pact, uniting the Slavic peoples under an authoritarian and Stakhanovite banner, dominating the toxic steppes of Donbass with allies such as the Wolves of the Volga and the Amazons of the New Tsar.
At the start of the game, everything changes: will you choose to restore civilization, rallying factions of hope and reconstruction? Or will you unleash chaos, attracting slavers, irradiated people, crazy cults, criminal gangs, and political extremists for a reign of absolute terror?
In May 2040, a window of opportunity opens: NARDO counterattacks to break VARPAC, while VARPAC invades the West to impose its empire. What if you were the leader of one of the two sides, one of the two major ideologies that survived the nuclear fire? Each turn—a month of brutal survival—can change everything: a failed raid, a mass desertion, or an unexpected event...
Ashes of Dawn 2040 is one of the very few (if not the only!) turn-based post-apocalyptic wargames in video games. It immerses you in an epic conflict where mastery of supply chains, exploitation of hostile terrain, and, above all, the ability to maintain fragile alliances are crucial.
Simple to learn but complex to master, it combines the strategic intensity of a classic wargame with the playful accessibility of a board game. Deploy your pieces on a zone map, manage replacements and movements as in a hybrid board game.
VARPAC has a slight numerical superiority, but NARDO has balanced forces and relies on alliances with small, lethal factions that can become fatal assets for the enemy.
VARPAC, with its ideologically fanatical masses, launches a relentless assault—but their stretched lines open up gaps. Capture strongholds, supply centers, and strategic points, or fail in the face of irradiated winters.
Maps and events inject diplomatic, military, or economic chaos, for enormous replayability. Especially since at the beginning of the game, you'll choose what you want to do with the world after the end...
Estimated game time: a little over two hours.
Favorite camp: none.
Most difficult to play: NARDO.
